History[edit]

The history of Queensland spans thousands of years, encompassing both a lengthy indigenous presence, as well as the eventful times of post-European settlement. The north-eastern Australian region was explored by Dutch, Portuguese and French navigators before being encountered by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. The state has witnessed frontier warfare between European settlers and Indigenous inhabitants (which did not result in any settlement or treaty), as well as the exploitation of cheap Kanaka labour sourced from the South Pacific through a form of forced recruitment known at the time as "blackbirding". The Australian Labor Party has its origin as a formal organisation in Queensland and the town of Barcaldine is the symbolic birthplace of the party.[10] June 2009 marked the 150th anniversary of its creation as a separate colony from New South Wales.[11] A rare record of early settler life in north Queensland can be seen in a set of ten photographic glass plates taken in the 1860s by Richard Daintree, in the collection of the National Museum of Australia.[12]

Arrival of Aborigines[edit]

The Aboriginal occupation of Queensland is thought to predate 50,000 BC, likely via boat or land bridge across Torres Strait, and became divided into over 90 different language groups.

During the last ice age Queensland's landscape became more arid and largely desolate, making food and other supplies scarce. This led to the world's first seed-grinding technology. Warming again made the land hospitable, which brought high rainfall along the eastern coast, stimulating the growth of the state’s tropical rainforests.[13]

The Aboriginal Australian population in Queensland declined significantly when European explorers brought smallpox to the eastern states in the late eighteenth century.[15]

In 1823, John Oxley, a British explorer, sailed north from what is now Sydney to scout possible penal colony sites in Gladstone (then Port Curtis) and Moreton Bay. At Moreton Bay, he found the Brisbane River. He returned in 1824 and established a settlement at what is now Redcliffe. The settlement, initially known as Edenglassie, was then transferred to the current location of the Brisbane city centre. Edmund Lockyer discovered outcrops of coal along the banks of the upper Brisbane River in 1825.[16] In 1839 transportation of convicts was ceased, culminating in the closure of the Brisbane penal settlement. In 1842 free settlement was permitted. In 1847, the Port of Maryborough was opened as a wool port. The first free immigrant ship to arrive in Moreton Bay was the Artemisia in 1848. In 1857, Queensland's first lighthouse was built at Cape Moreton.

Frontier War[edit]

A war erupted between Aborigines and settlers in colonial Queensland. The Frontier War was notable for being the most bloody in Australia, which is believed to be due to the fact that Queensland has larger pre-contact indigenous population than the other colonies of Australia. A recent survey states that about 1,500 European settlers and their allies who consisted of Chinese, Aboriginal and Melanesian Assistants were killed in frontier skirmishes during the nineteenth century. The same study similarly indicates the actual casualties Aboriginal people suffered, which was classified as 'warfare' and at times, notably, as a 'war of extermination'. The death toll was highly likely to exceed 30,000. A paid force in the Queensland government known as the 'Native Police Force' was a key instrument in seeing the oppression of the indigenous people.[17]

During this time, the largest massacre on whites by Aborigines also took place in Queensland. On 27 October 1857, Martha Fraser's Hornet Bank station on the Dawson River took the lives of 11 Europeans.[18]

A public meeting was held in 1851 to consider Queensland's proposed separation from New South Wales. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent to form the separate colony of what is now Queensland. Brisbane was appointed as the capital city. On 10 December 1859, a proclamation was read by British author George Bowen, whereby Queensland was formally separated from the state of New South Wales.[19] As a result, Bowen became the first Governor of Queensland. On 22 May 1860 the first Queensland election was held and Robert Herbert, Bowen's private secretary, was appointed as the first Premier of Queensland. Queensland also become the first Australian colony to establish its own parliament rather than pending time as a Crown Colony. In 1865, the first rail lane in the state opened between Ipswich and Grandchester.

Queensland's economy expanded rapidly in 1867 after James Nash discovered gold on the Mary River near the town of Gympie, sparking a gold rush. While still significant, they were on a much smaller scale than the gold rushes of Victoria and New South Wales. During the period from the 1860s till the early 20th century, many labourers, known at the time as Kanakas, were brought to Queensland from neighbouring Pacific Island nations to work in the states sugar cane fields. Some of these people had been kidnapped under a process known as Blackbirding or press ganging, and their employment conditions amounted to indentured labour or even slavery. During the Australian federation of 1901, the White Australia policy came into effect, which saw all foreign workers in Australia deported under the Pacific Island Labourers Act of 1901, which saw the Pacific Islander population of the state decrease rapidly.[20]

Twentieth Century[edit]

On 1 January 1901, Australia was federated following a proclamation by Queen Victoria. During this time, Queensland had a population of half a million people. Brisbane was subsequently proclaimed a city in 1902. In 1905, women voted in state elections for the first time and the University of Queensland was established in 1909. In 1911, The first alternative treatments for polio were pioneered in Queensland and remain in use across the world today. Australia's first major airline, Qantas, was founded in 1920 to serve outback Queensland.

In 1922, Queensland abolished the Upper House, becoming the only state parliament in Australia to have one house. In 1935, cane toads were deliberately introduced to Queensland from Hawaii in a poorly thought out and unsuccessful attempt to reduce the number of French’s Cane and Greyback Cane beetles that were destroying the roots of sugar cane plants, which are integral to Queensland's economy. In 1962, the first commercial production of oil in Queensland and Australia began at Moonie.

The humid climate—regulated by the availability of air conditioning—saw Queensland (particularly the south eastern region) undergo rapid population growth as a result of interstate migration. To this day, it is one of Australia's fastest growing states.[citation needed]

Twenty-first Century[edit]

In 2009, Queensland celebrated Q150, its 150th anniversary as an independent colony and state.[19] The Queensland government and other Queensland organisations commemorated the occasion with many events and publications, including:

Geography[edit]

Queensland borders the Torres Strait to the north, with Boigu Island off the coast of New Guinea representing the absolute northern extreme of its territory. The triangular Cape York Peninsula, which points toward New Guinea is the northernmost part of the state's mainland. West of the peninsula's tip, northern Queensland is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria, while the Coral Sea— an arm of the Pacific Ocean— borders Queensland to the east. To the west, Queensland is bordered by the Northern Territory, at the 138°E longitude, and to the southwest by the northeastern corner of South Australia.

Climate[edit]

Great Sandy Strait from orbit

Because of its size, there is significant variation in climate across the state. Low rainfall and hot summers are typical for the inland and west, a monsoonal 'wet' season in the far north, and warm, temperate conditions along the coastal strip. Elevated areas in the south-east inland can experience temperatures well below freezing in mid-winter. The climate of the coastal strip is influenced by warm ocean waters, keeping the region free from extremes of temperature and providing moisture for rainfall.[25]

Natural disasters are often a threat in Queensland, severe tropical cyclones can impact the coast and cause severe damage,[26] with recent examples including Larry, Yasi and Ita. Flooding from rain-bearing systems can also be severe and can occur anywhere in Queensland. One of the deadliest and most damaging floods in the history of the state occurred in early 2011.[27]Droughts and bushfires can also occur, however the latter are generally less severe than those that occur in southern states. Severe springtime thunderstorms generally impact the south-east and inland of the state and can bring damaging winds, torrential rain, large hail and even tornadoes.[28] The strongest tornado ever recorded in Australia occurred in Queensland near Bundaberg.[29]

There are five predominant climatic zones in Queensland,[30] based on temperature and humidity:

However, most of the Queensland populace experience two weather seasons: a "winter" period of rather warm temperatures and minimal rainfall and a sultry summer period of hot, sticky temperatures and higher levels of rainfall.

The coastal far north of the state is the wettest place in Australia, with Mount Bellenden Ker (south of Cairns), holding many Australian rainfall records with its annual average rainfall of over 8 meters.[31] It is not uncommon for locations in this area to receive more rain in 24 hours during the wet season than the majority of Queensland receives in a year. Snow is rare in Queensland although it does fall with some regularity along the far southern border with New South Wales, predominantly in the Stanthorpe district although on rare occasions can fall further north and west. The most northerly recorded snow in Australia occurred near Mackay, however this was exceptional.[32]

The annual mean statistics[33] for some Queensland centres is shown below:

The lowest minimum temperature is −10.6 °C (12.9 °F) at Stanthorpe on 23 June 1961 and at The Hermitage (near Warwick) on 12 July 1965.[40] Temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) are however, generally uncommon over the majority of populated Queensland.

State capital and most populous city, Brisbane, located in southeast Queensland.

Queensland has a less centralised population than other states, with significant populations in regional cities such as Townsville (above).

A smaller proportion of Queensland's population lives in the capital city than any other mainland state. As of June 2004 the capital city represented 45.7% of the population; for the whole country, capital cities represented 63.8% of the total population.

On 9 December 2005, the population of Queensland officially reached 4 million. According to Queensland's Office of Economic and Statistical Research the estimated population of the state at the end of 2007 was 4,228,290 which is almost 20% of Australia's total. For many years until 2008, Queensland was the fastest growing state in Australia. At its peak growth in 2007, it was estimated that over 1,500 people moved to the state per week including 1,000 to the southern part of the state alone and the state recorded a TFR of 2.1, the highest since 1977.[44] Queensland's growth rate has since been surpassed by Western Australia[45]).

Religious affiliation[edit]

According to the 2011 Census, principal religious affiliations in Queensland are distributed as follows:[46]

Economy[edit]

The city of Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar.[47]

Queensland's economy has enjoyed a boom in the tourism and mining industries over the past 20 years. A sizeable influx of interstate and overseas migrants, large amounts of federal government investment, increased mining of vast mineral deposits and an expanding aerospace sector have contributed to the state's economic growth. The 2008–09 saw the expansion slow to just 0.8%, the state's worst performance in 18 years.[48]

Between 1992 and 2002, the growth in the Gross State Product of Queensland outperformed that of all the other states and territories. In that period Queensland's GSP grew 5.0% each year, while growth in Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose on average 3.9% each year. Queensland's contribution to the Australian GDP increased by 10.4% in that period, one of only three states to do so.[49]

In 2003 Brisbane had the lowest cost of living of all Australia's capital cities. In late 2005 Brisbane was the third most expensive capital for housing after Sydney and Canberra and just ahead of Melbourne by $15,000.

Primary industries include: bananas, pineapples, peanuts, a wide variety of other tropical and temperate fruit and vegetables, grain crops, wineries, cattle raising, cotton, sugar cane, wool and a mining industry including bauxite, coal, silver, lead, zinc, gold, and copper. Secondary industries are mostly further processing of the above-mentioned primary produce. For example, bauxite is shipped by sea from Weipa and converted to alumina at Gladstone.[50] There is also copper refining and the refining of sugar cane to sugar at a number of mills along the eastern coastline. Major tertiary industries are the retail trade and tourism.

Parkinsonia at Lake Galilee

Tourism[edit]

Tourism is Queensland's leading tertiary industry with millions of interstate and overseas visitors flocking to the Sunshine State each year. The industry generates $4.0 billion annually, accounting for 4.5% of Queensland's GSP.[51] Queensland is a state of many landscapes that range from sunny tropical coastal areas, lush rainforests to dry inland areas.

Cairns is renowned as the "Gateway to the Barrier Reef" and the heritage listed Daintree Rainforests. The Gold Coast of Queensland is also sometimes referred to as "Australia's Theme Park Capital", with five major amusement parks. These are Dreamworld, Movie World, Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild and WhiteWater World.

Transport[edit]

Queensland is served by a number of National Highways and, particularly in South East Queensland, motorways such as the M1. The Queensland government Department of Transport & Main Roads oversees the development and operation of main roads and public transport, including taxis and local aviation.

South East Queensland has an integrated public transport system operated by the TransLink Transit Authority, which provides services bus, rail and ferry services through contracted bus and ferry operators and Queensland Rail. The TransLink network operates a fare system which allows a single ticket to be used across all modes for the same price irrespective of the number of transfers made on the trip. Regional bus and long-distance rail services are also provided throughout the State. Local bus services are also available in most regional centres.

The Queensland Parliament or the Legislative Assembly, is unicameral. It is the only Australian state with a unicameral legislature. A bicameral system existed until 1922, when the Legislative Council was abolished by the Labor members' "suicide squad", so called because they were appointed for the purpose of voting to abolish their own offices.[53] The Parliament is housed in the 19th century Parliament House and 20th century Parliamentary Annexe in Brisbane. The state's politics are traditionally regarded as being conservative relative to other states.[54][55][56][57][58]

The judicial system of Queensland consists of the Supreme Court and the District Court, established by the Constitution of Queensland, and various other courts and tribunals established by ordinary Acts of the Queensland Parliament.

In 2001 Queensland adopted a new codified constitution, repealing most of the assorted Acts of Parliament that had previously made up the constitution. The new constitution took effect on 6 June 2002, the anniversary of the formation of the colony of Queensland by the signing of Letters patent by Queen Victoria in 1859.

Local government[edit]

Local government is the mechanism by which towns and districts can manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1993–2007. Queensland is divided into 73 local government areas which may be called Cities, Towns, Shires or Regions.[59]

Each area has a council which is responsible for providing a range of public services and utilities, and derives its income from both rates and charges on resident ratepayers, and grants and subsidies from the State and Commonwealth governments.[60]

Universities[edit]

The state's first university, The University of Queensland was established in 1909. It was moved to St Lucia in 1945, where it remains today. The University of Queensland ranks amongst the top 100 universities in several global rankings.

The state of Queensland is represented in all of Australia's national sporting competitions and is also host to a number of domestic and international sporting events. The most popular winter and summer team sports are Rugby league, Rugby union and cricket, respectively. Rugby league's annual State of Origin series is a major event in the Queensland sporting calendar, with the Queensland Maroons in 2013 winning a record eighth series in a row. The Brisbane Broncos are the state's most successful team of any sport, having won 3 premierships in the NRL rugby league era and 6 in total during their 23-year existence.

Queensland's dominance is not restricted to rugby league. The early part of this century saw the AFL's Brisbane Lions claim a hat-trick of premierships between 2001–2003 inclusive, and coming so close to a record-equalling fourth, whilst recently Brisbane Roar FC won back to back A-League titles in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 season, and also set an Australian sporting record of 36 consecutive games unbeaten. Just four years after being branded "the joke of rugby union", the Queensland Reds won its first Super Rugby title in July 2011. The Queensland Firebirds were also an outstanding team in 2011, going undefeated in the Netball ANZ Championship to win the Grand Final.

Swimming is also a popular sport in Queensland, with a majority of Australian team members and international medalists hailing from the state. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Queensland swimmers won all six of Australia's gold medals, all swimmers on Australia's three female (finals) relays teams were from Queensland, two of which won gold.

^Wanna, John (2003). "Queensland". In Moon, Campbell; Sharman, Jeremy. Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, the States and Territories. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN0-521-82507-5. Retrieved 15 November 2011.